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LibriVox recording of The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Part 01 and 02)Read by Martin Geeson
The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society.
The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt.
But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant - who is in thrall to the equally doomed Nastasia Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiralling dance of death... (Summary by Martin Geeson)
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.
For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org.
Download M4B Part 1 (152MB)
Download M4B Part 2 (141MB)
Download M4B Part 3 (143MB)
The extraordinary child-adult Prince Myshkin, confined for several years in a Swiss sanatorium suffering from severe epilepsy, returns to Russia to claim his inheritance and to find a place in healthy human society.
The teeming St Petersburg community he enters is far from receptive to an innocent like himself, despite some early successes and relentless pursuit by grotesque fortune-hunters. His naive gaucheries give rise to extreme reactions among his new acquaintance, ranging from anguished protectiveness to mockery and contempt.
But even before reaching the city, during the memorable train journey that opens the novel, he has encountered the demonic Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant - who is in thrall to the equally doomed Nastasia Filippovna: beautiful, capricious and destructively neurotic, she joins with the two weirdly contrasted men in a spiralling dance of death... (Summary by Martin Geeson)
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.
For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org.
Download M4B Part 1 (152MB)
Download M4B Part 2 (141MB)
Download M4B Part 3 (143MB)
Reviews
Reviewer:
aposiopesis
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
November 6, 2015
Subject: dahszil - your prayer is answered.
Subject: dahszil - your prayer is answered.
A splendid reader, Jan Moorehouse, has completed the reading of Dostoyevsky's 'Idiot'. I'm sure you will approve of her narration and will want to congratulate her.
Reviewer:
dahszil
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
March 19, 2014
Subject: Very disappointed that Martin Geeson is not reading pts. 3&4
Subject: Very disappointed that Martin Geeson is not reading pts. 3&4
I know that Marting Geeson has done a massive amount of reading for librivox. So I am thankful for his read of parts 1 and 2 of "the idiot" Dostoevsky's favorite and for me one of greatest novels/tome ever written. At the very least 3 and 4 should have been done by a collaboration of readers. I took a listen to one or two of the incomplete 3 and 4. The reader has an adequate voice and that reader is scheduled to read all of 3 and 4. But since no one has that supple and seamless differentiation of vocalizations of characters, I think parts 3 and 4 will not come close to the great reader Martin Geeson's 1 and 2. I have listened to several commercial versions and the reader does not come close to Martin's humanity, expression of emotions, easy human pace, and his supple and subtle vocalizations
At least 3 and 4 would have been easy to listen to with a variety of readers. sigh....One should have sympathy for Roghzin and Nastasia. They were both abused, the former by his father the latter by Totsky. In clip 19 Rogozhin makes the ultimate point that I am sure Pavlov(the great Russian exponent of classical conditioning)would agree: R replies to the Prince, in so many words(not a quote): We do not chose, are personalities are formed by others in our formative years. It is only when we gain the affection of good persons then we can chose, but even here what we are from the treatment of others in our formative years, is is more difficult to alleviate and change for the better than physical illness. Our conditioned personalities and actions are inflicted, "nurtured". The genetic and neurobiological psychiatry of today has cause and effect backwards, and is so corrupted by drug companies by the medicalization of the psychological misery or madness we suffer.
I have the most ill feelings towards Totsky. Madame Epachine was quite colorful. vacillating between childishness, to outrageous verbal cruelty and than moments later being quite apologetic. Martin did an excellent job verbally portraying Madame Epanchin.
At least 3 and 4 would have been easy to listen to with a variety of readers. sigh....One should have sympathy for Roghzin and Nastasia. They were both abused, the former by his father the latter by Totsky. In clip 19 Rogozhin makes the ultimate point that I am sure Pavlov(the great Russian exponent of classical conditioning)would agree: R replies to the Prince, in so many words(not a quote): We do not chose, are personalities are formed by others in our formative years. It is only when we gain the affection of good persons then we can chose, but even here what we are from the treatment of others in our formative years, is is more difficult to alleviate and change for the better than physical illness. Our conditioned personalities and actions are inflicted, "nurtured". The genetic and neurobiological psychiatry of today has cause and effect backwards, and is so corrupted by drug companies by the medicalization of the psychological misery or madness we suffer.
I have the most ill feelings towards Totsky. Madame Epachine was quite colorful. vacillating between childishness, to outrageous verbal cruelty and than moments later being quite apologetic. Martin did an excellent job verbally portraying Madame Epanchin.
